


Break the Silence

by Silverdrift



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Body Horror, M/M, Mouth Sewn Shut, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-11-03 21:22:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20715626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverdrift/pseuds/Silverdrift
Summary: Though everyone tried to hide it from him, Hubert knows something is amiss when his lover did not show up for their night dinner and tea (coffee). Despite being ordered not to, he sets out with General Caspar on a rescue mission. Though he is prepared for many different scenarios, finding Ferdinand like that was not one of them and it sets his blood to boil.





	Break the Silence

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request I filled on tumblr off of my Bad Things Happen bingo card. The ending gave me conniptions, but otherwise I enjoyed writing it~

Hubert had thought nothing of it when he didn’t see the Prime Minister during the day. After all, even post war there was much to be done. It wasn’t uncommon in the slightest for them to depart company after the morning meetings with a kiss (still much to the embarrassment of Hubert and the amusement of Emperor Edelgard) and then see nothing of each other until the evening when they dropped all Imperial matters to join each other for dinner and their beverage of choice. However, when evening fell and Ferdinand didn’t show… he knew something was amiss. At first, Hubert wondered if he was just late, busy fussing with his hair or trapped in a matter he couldn’t escape… but more and more time ticked on and still no sign of Ferdinand. Something was off. 

Slowly, Hubert rose from his chair and headed to the places where his significant other frequently got held up. Nothing. Next, he took a stroll to the shop where Ferdinand bought his tea. The shopkeeper greeted him cheerfully, asking him if he was here shopping for Duke Aegir today. Hubert's face knitted itself into a look of disappointment but went ahead and purchased the tea regardless as their personal stock was becoming low. He left there and went to the coffee shop next door. No Ferdinand there either, but there was an order called in that morning that Ferdinand never showed up to get. 

He tried his best to keep his wandering mind in check as he practically power walked back to the palace. Surely Edelgard had seen him and this was nothing more than a business meeting that took far to long. The war was over after all and while Hubert understood better than most that threats still lingered, he couldn’t possibly think of anyone stupid enough to go after Ferdinand. The man could hold his own, sure, but most wouldn’t dare even look his direction maliciously for fear of Hubert's scorn.

As he approached the doors to the throne room, he was nearly run over by Caspar who was on his way out in quite a hurry. Hubert stopped the normally over eager general, expecting to have to scold him about paying attention, but the look on his face suggested that there was more that needed to be asked. “Caspar. And where might you be off to in such a hurry? Late for dinner with Ashe again I take it?”

“Uuuuuh hey Hubert. I was uh… just off on a mission. No big deal. Really got to go though so if you could just…. HEY!” Caspar answered nervously, yelping when Hubert when to drag him back into the throne room. “You really don’t want me wasting time on this! I need to go now!”

The large commotion Caspar was causing (to no one's surprise of course) attracted the attention of everyone in the room… and the way they all looked away from Hubert was troublesome. The mage threw Caspar down in front of him and peered up at Edelgard. “Your Majesty.” He addressed her calmly with a polite bow.

“Hubert…” She answered, worry clear on her face. “Caspar, please go. I’ll handle this.” She remained quiet at first, watching her general scramble away. Once he disappeared, she straightened her posture and tried her best to sound convincingly collected. “What can I do for you, Count Vestra?”

“Your Majesty,” He started, his gaze never leaving her face even though she would not look at him. He was bothered by her addressing him so formally, something she never did unless she was scolding him or under a great deal of stress… and her expression pointed to the latter. “may I ask what is going on? No one in this room, yourself included, will look me in the eyes and General Bergliez seems to be in quite a rush… dare I assume this has to do with Ferdinand since I’ve been unable to locate him?” He had remained fairly calm up to this point, but when Edelgard still couldn’t meet his gaze, his body tensed. 

“As astute as ever, Hubert… Yes. This morning I sent Ferdinand out on a diplomatic errand… we received word not too long ago that the party was ambushed and None of his men survived. The aftermath was discovered by one of Caspar’s men patrolling the area… but he did not find him among the dead, so we can only hope he is alive and being held hostage.”

“And when were you planning on informing me of this?” Now his tone had a venomous quality to it, which he would likely be scolded for later given who he was talking to. Magic began to crackle at his fingertips, causing him to clench his fist and jaw to keep himself in check. Now was not the time to lash out. 

“Truthfully I had no plans of telling you. Not until we had recovered him… or at the very least recovered a body.” Only now did she meet his gaze, holding her ground against his well-deserved anger. “I should have known that keeping anything from you was impossible, especially something regarding Ferdinand. But I couldn’t risk you rushing off and something happening to you both.”

“Then you’ll have to forgive me upon my return, Your Majesty, as I will be doing exactly that.” Without waiting on her response, he turned away and headed back toward the door.

“Count Vestra, you will do no such thing.” She commanded, hoping that his staunch loyalty would give him pause. When he kept walking, she hurried off after him. “Hubert, please. I’ve already sent Caspar and his elite guard out to search for him.”

“And I will be joining them.” 

“I cannot allow that. If something were to happen to you as well-“

“Forgive my blatant disobedience, Emperor Edelgard…” He paused only long enough to glance over his shoulder at her. The desperate yet determined look in his eyes causing her to pause, a soft gasp sneaking past her lips. “but if roles were reversed and this was Lady Byleth in danger, you would do the same.” With that, he set off again to join the search.

Edelgard was unable to argue that. It was true, orders be damned, if Byleth had been taken, she would be the first out the door. So, she just watched him walk away for a moment before she turned back to the throne room. “Safe travels, Hubert…”

-

To say Caspar had been uneasy to have Hubert joining them was a monumental understatement, and the ride to the sight of the attack with that tense, uncomfortable silence didn’t help. What if the guy had been wrong and they did find Ferdinand dead among his guard? Or even if he wasn’t, what if they tracked him down and they were too late to save him? Caspar was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be able to handle any reaction that Hubert had. His mind played though scenario after scenario, trying to steel himself for whatever might happen. It helped on the battlefield, so it couldn’t hurt now. He only snapped back to reality once he realized they had arrived. 

“Damn… This really was a massacre…” He muttered to himself as he climbed down from his horse and started picking through the scene for clues. His eyes kept wandering up to Hubert, who had dismounted and immediately started to check the bodies. However, he quickly became confused when Hubert soon returned to his horse. “Uuuuh Hubert? Where ya goin?”

“I confirmed that he is, in fact, not among the dead. If he is not here, he is elsewhere, and I intend to find him.”

“Yeah… I got that. We haven’t exactly figured out where to go though.”

Hubert gave a rather irritated sigh. “Look closely. All their valuables are intact, meaning that this was not the work of bandits. That, with the fact that Ferdinand was not slaughtered and left here with his men indicates that whoever did this was only after Ferdinand and needed him alive. My guess is either for information on myself or Her Majesty. That said, as flippant as he can be, getting the jump on Ferdinand would not have been an easy task. The only way they would have been able to accomplish something like this without losing many of their own would have been to come from behind. Silent and on foot. Lastly, from personal experience, one does not want to haul a political hostage on foot very far, too much opportunity to get caught… Which narrows down our search area drastically.” After he finished his explanation and still received a blank stare from Caspar, he rolled his eyes. “They are likely holed up in the mountains, beyond the pass.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you just say that?” Caspar stood up quickly and jogged back to his horse, calling his men to do the same. Once on their way, that tense silence befell them again. It made Caspar so beyond uncomfortable that he absolutely needed to start talking to get rid of it. “So… uh…” He hadn’t considered what to talk about before he opened his mouth. Now, though, Hubert was looking at him expectantly and that stare only made matters worse, so he just blurted out the first thing on his mind. “What happens if we don’t get to him in time?” Immediately, he regretted asking. Hubert looked away from him almost instantly, a mix of anguish and fury on his face.

“I’ll make each and every one of them that even considered laying a hand on him suffer as he did, threefold. And then… they will die.”

Caspar quickly decided that the silence wasn’t so bad after that.

The group came to a halt when Hubert suddenly stopped and dismounted near a cave neatly tucked away among the cliffs. It was inconspicuous, easy to miss unless you had an attention to detail like he did. It was the perfect spot to hid away with a political prisoner if you did want to get caught… or to set up a trap for the rescue party. Only one way in with high rocky walls leading to the entrance. It left no hope of escape should someone come in behind them. Normally, he would wait, formulate a fool proof plan, make sure they would lose as little as possible… but one more detail caught his attention. Blood on the wall near the mouth of the cave with a few strands of long amber-orange hair stuck to it. A quiet growl escaped him as he started to head inside. “Caspar. Remain here and watch for a potential ambush. I sense this may be a trap.”

“Whoa Whoa wait a minute, I thought I was the impulsive one here!” Caspar hopped down from his horse, barking an order to his men to stand guard. “If this is a trap, is it a good idea for you to go running in by yourself? No way! I’m going too.”

“You’ll do no such thing. You cannot leave your men here with no command… General.” His lips turned up into a small smirk when the hotheaded warrior growled but didn’t argue. “If I do not return soon, you may come for me then.” As he had made a habit of doing today, he departed without waiting for an answer. 

“How soon is… aaaand he’s gone.” Caspar heaved a sigh and kicked at a rock. “He better come back. I’m gonna be taking the heat if he doesn’t…”

-

For a hideout, it was rather dimly lit, many of the passages barely visible to someone not used to such conditions. Luckily, Hubert was trained for this. When your primary job was to guard the heir to the throne and eventually the Emperor, you had to be able to do so in any situation. However, it only further proved his assumption of this being a trap. One likely set with the express intention of drawing him out. Taking the Prime Minister would surely warrant an elite rescue. Whoever these people were, they were smart enough to know that Edelgard would send him at the head of the group, thus giving them the chance to kill him and then kill their hostage. This in mind, he moved carefully, his footsteps making nary a sound.

He soon happened upon a light at the end of the main passageway. The fact that this area was more lit up than the rest practically screamed ‘hey I’m a trap!’ but it was most likely where Ferdinand was being held. The one place where he couldn’t hide among the shadows. He straightened his posture and walked in with a confident stride. That determined gait quickly deteriorated into a hurried, undignified scramble once he laid eyes on the limp figure tied to a chair in the center of the room. At first, he feared he was too late, but as he knelt in front of Ferdinand, relief flooded over him. The slow but arrhythmic movement of his chest indicated that not only was he alive, but likely conscious. Slowly, the count removed one of his gloves, reaching past that mess of fiery orange hair to lift his head up, hoping that feeling that skin on skin contact might calm the surely frightened man. He was met first with a weary look of surprise, a muffled gasp and whimper of pain following shortly after, prompting Hubert to start checking him over for injuries. There was a gash and dried blood just off his brow ridge where his head had been slammed into the wall outside, his nose and part of his cheek were bruised up and a bit bloodied, but none those concerned him more than the hand shaped bruising around his neck and the way his mouth had been crudely stitched shut with fishing line. He didn’t bother checking any further, he had seen enough to know what needed to be done. That’s when he heard the footsteps closing in, almost as if this was meant to be. 

“Look, boys. We caught a rat in our trap.” A female voice cooed from behind him. “There is quite a bounty on your head, traitor.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.” Hubert started calmly, rising to feet and slipping his glove back on as he turned to face the group that he blocked him in. He recognized them of course, people that had served his father. Loyalists. People who would want him dead to avenge the assassination he himself had carried out. “I assume this was all your doing then? Kidnap the Prime Minister, ransom his life for mine? Or simply wait until Emperor Edelgard sent me to his rescue? Clever, I’ll admit.”

“Tch, you think you are real smart, don’t you? What our plan was doesn’t matter. We got you here, alone. You are out numbered and out classed. Give up and I’ll make it quick.”

“And you’ll certainly release Duke Aegir right after, I’m sure.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s a shame really… I wanted to commend you. Normally, there would be no way out of this. However, you made one grave miscalculation.” 

“What the hell are you on about?” The leader growled, raising her weapon. 

His face grew dark, the smile only making his stare more unsettling. Black magic swirled to life around them as he raised his hand, pausing only long enough to speak. “You underestimated my feelings for Duke Aegir...” A sense of satisfaction course through him as their faces all turned to terror, him implication realized. “Now, your life if forfeit for the pain you caused him. Even if it destroys me in the process.” Some tried to rush him, the rest tried to flee as the powerful magic surged forward, leaving little that was recognizable as human in its wake. One managed to escape, but now burdened with the cost of using such magic, Hubert collapsed as he went to give chase. Ferdinand started to panic, trying his best to say something, anything, but only causing himself pain in the process. “Ferdinand, hush!” The order came out much harsher than he meant it, but it served its purpose. Slowly, he forced himself to his hands and knees and drug himself over to the chair, sitting against it and looking up at Ferdinand. “I’m alright. Please do not worsen your condition with needless panic… Give me a moment to regain my bearings and I shall-” 

“Huuuuubert!” A rather loud voice called, interrupting Hubert's thought. The sounds of Caspar's heavy footsteps echoed through the cave almost as much as his voice did.

The count gave the most annoyed (and slightly relieved) sigh and shook his head. “It is good that I’m not in any real danger…” The gentle annoyance in his tone earned him a soft, but very welcomed snicker from the man next to him as Caspar came stomping around the corner.

“There you are! And you found Ferdinand! But uh… why are you just-“ there was a sickening squish that made the general stop dead in his tracks. “Oh… oh gross. I stepped in… I stepped in one of the poor bastards that took Ferdinand, didn’t I?”

“Indeed you have. And while you are more than welcome to be disgusted by it later, I need you to cut him free and *gently* hand him here so that I may undo this… atrocity.”

“Atrocity? What are you- oh shit! What the hell… is that… is that fishing line?! What kind of fucked up-“

“Caspar.”

“Right! Sorry.” He moved quickly to do what he had been asked. “Wait wouldn’t it be quicker to let me unstitch him? Since I’m right here?”

Hubert pulled a small pair of scissors out of the inside of his coat and cast a sharp glare to Caspar. “I do not trust you and your brutish strength to do this with the gentle precision it requires.” 

“Sheesh. No need to be rude. Just say you’d rather do it. And I’m not even going to ask why you carry scissors.” Caspar huffed as he finally freed Ferdinand and helped him down into Hubert’s waiting arms. Ferdinand practically clung to Hubert, his slender frame trembling as a flood of emotions hit him at once. Caspar hovered awkwardly for several moments before he started walking away. “I’m gonna goooo… check for stragglers. Yell if you need me.”

Hubert waited until Caspar disappeared before he pulled Ferdinand away gently, removing his glove once more before running his thumb over his cheek. His features softened, a small smile turning up the corners of his mouth. “Hush now… it’s over. You are safe.” He assured, wiping tears from Ferdinand’s face. “Now, however, I need you to remain still so I don’t cause you any more harm.” He waited until Ferdinand nodded before picking up the scissors and setting to work. Each strand he snipped and removed caused Ferdinand to tense, but miraculously he remained surprising still. Once he pulled the last strand away, Hubert moved his hand to cover Ferdinand’s mouth, hoping his meager white magic skill would at least tame the swelling and ease the pain. There was a small flash of light, his hand falling weakly back to his side soon after. There was silence between them at first, but eventually Ferdinand broke the silence.

“Are you alright, Hubert?” He asked softly, wincing some at the lingering pain. “You should not exhaust yourself so on my account… If something were to happen to you, I…” He trailed off, mildly confused when his partner gave a weak laugh.

“After such an ordeal and you are worried over me? Typical.” 

“Hubert… do not tease. I was being serious.”

“I’ll be fine, rest will be sufficient for what ails me.” He answered. “After all, I certainly did not disregard a direct order to stay in the capital to end up dying here. Her Majesty would have been beside herself.”

“You did not…” When Hubert just smirked at him, Ferdinand made a rather undignified noise. “Hubert!”

“If anything had happened to you, I wouldn’t have known what to do with myself. Is that not what you just tried to tell me?” There was a sincerity to his voice that caused his partner to gasp and blush, confirming what he had said to be true. “I thought so.” He gave a small hum and placed a soft kiss on Ferdinand’s forehead, before leaning back with a content sigh, fully intending to stay right there until Caspar came back on his own. Once they returned, there would be reports to file and other official business regarding this incident… so for now, he wished to simply enjoy this time that they had while also regaining some of his strength. Ferdinand, for once, didn’t argue and just laid his head on Hubert’s shoulder.

When Caspar did finally come back, he found the both in that exact same position, sound asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love your feedback since I'm a bit rusty from not having been able to write in so long. If you'd like to make your own request from the bingo card, head on over to silverdriftdragon.tumblr.com/ :3


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